Professional sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs trudged to training camp on the campus of Missouri Western with only a couple of positions up for grabs, one of the benefits of having a veteran team coming off an AFC West title. The starting job opposite cornerback Marcus Peters remains that way...

ST. LOUIS -- Yangervis Solarte homered and drove in a career-high six runs, Austin Hedges also went deep and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-4 on Tuesday night. Solarte hit his homer a projected 455 feet over the right-field bullpen in the eighth inning to cap his career night. The Padres had scored six runs over their previous four games combined...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It was fitting that Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray, on his first play after checking into a preseason game against Cincinnati, threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Seantavius Jones. Pretty much summed up the Chiefs' quarterback situation...

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Despite spending the afternoon with 12-year-old Little Leaguers who idolize pros like himself, Josh Bell didn't find himself dispensing much advice. "No one came to me and asked, 'What do you think about my swing?"' Bell said. "It was more like, 'Follow me on Instagram' or like this or that picture. It was more lighthearted."...

PITTSBURGH -- Adam Frazier and the Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a win at PNC Park, then packed their bags for a trip -- to another home game about 200 miles away. Frazier homered, doubled and singled to help the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 Saturday, ending a six-game losing streak in a matchup delayed nearly two hours by rain...

CINCINNATI -- Rookie Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of touchdown passes, solidifying his spot as the Chiefs' primary backup, and three Kansas City quarterbacks threw for a score on Saturday night during a 30-12 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Kansas City (1-1) got a lot to like out of its offense overall and its top pick in particular...

PITTSBURGH -- Dexter Fowler's two -run triple sparked the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night at PNC Park. With the Cardinals trailing 5-4 with one out in the seventh inning, Fowler tripled down the right field line off reliever Joaquin Benoit to give St. Louis a 6-5 lead. Fowler went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scored three runs and walked twice...

BOSTON -- Mookie Betts finally had a pitch he could drive and the Boston Red Sox pulled out anther last at-bat win in Fenway Park. Betts lined a two-run double off the Green Monster with two outs in the ninth inning, capping a three-run rally that lifted the Red Sox to a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs broke training camp at Missouri Western State University on Wednesday. Whether they'll be back next season is expected to be decided soon. The contract between the Chiefs and the Division II school about an hour's drive north of Kansas City expired this year. But not only are there a pair of mutual options, both sides have expressed interest in negotiating another deal to keep Missouri Western the Chiefs' summer home...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Chris Jones was standing on the sideline, on the cusp of returning from arthroscopic knee surgery, and watched as Chiefs teammate Allen Bailey dominated the line against San Francisco. "Oh beast! Did you see that?" the gregarious Jones said a few days later, when asked about Bailey's performance from Friday night's preseason opener. "Split the double team, make the TFL. I went up to him and said: 'Allen Bailey the Hulk is back! The Hulk is back in business, baby!"'...

BOSTON -- The Red Sox have found different ways to win ball games over the past month. Their latest came thanks to relentless offense and a rare defensive feat. Xander Bogaerts had three hits, Hanley Ramirez, Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr. all added two RBIs and the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-4 on Tuesday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Brandon Phillips knows what to expect from Cardinals fans. "Oh yeah, it's nice for Boo Phillips to come back to St. Louis, man," Phillips said. "That's the name they really gave me. I love playing here. The fans here are great." Phillips hit a two-run homer to back R.A. Dickey, and the Atlanta Braves stopped the Cardinals' season-high, eight-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory Sunday...

ST. LOUIS -- There are times Paul DeJong just shakes his head in wonderment. The St. Louis rookie infielder, who made his major league debut on May 28, hit his team-leading 17th home run on Saturday night to help the Cardinals push their winning streak to eight games with a 6-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves...

ST. LOUIS -- Dexter Fowler hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. St. Louis tied a season-high with its sixth straight win. Kansas City has lost four in a row and six of seven...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Reid has been preparing for preseason games as a head coach for nearly two decades. Kyle Shanahan is doing it for the first time. Yet the new 49ers coach has a clear picture of how his debut will go tonight in Kansas City, when he matches wits with Reid and the Chiefs in a game that offers a bit more intrigue than usual...

ST. LOUIS -- Yadier Molina hit a grand slam one pitch after a cat ran onto the field in the sixth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rally to beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 on Wednesday night. The Cardinals loaded the bases off Royals relievers Brandon Maurer and Peter Moylan. Molina was at the plate, with two outs, when the cat came onto the field and ran toward the center field wall...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- It has been years since the Kansas City Chiefs gave their fans any reason to stick around after halftime of their preseason opener, when the starters and backups generally take a seat. That will change Friday night. Chiefs coach Andy Reid plans to give each of his quarterbacks a full quarter against the San Francisco 49ers. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Cardinals scored so many times off Jason Vargas and the Kansas City bullpen in the fifth inning Tuesday night that they broke the Royals' crown-shaped scoreboard. Or maybe it was just a coincidence that the massive outfield video screen suddenly went dark...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Matt Carpenter likes hitting in the western side of the state. Carpenter hit a three-run homer in St. Louis' six-run fourth inning, and the Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 11-3 on Monday night for their third consecutive victory...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The hole that Jeremy Maclin's surprising offseason release left in the Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver corps was underscored last week when Andy Reid brought up the veteran's name. Reid was asked about how the rest of his pass catchers were coming along, and the Chiefs' coach was quick to heap praise -- entirely of his own doing -- on the job Maclin did serving as an on-field assistant to their younger wide receivers during his time in Kansas City...

CINCINNATI -- The Cardinals want to look back on their big comeback as the day they finally put it all together. Jose Martinez hit his first grand slam during a nine-run fourth inning, and St. Louis overcame Adam Wainwright's rough return from the disabled list, beating the Cincinnati Reds 13-4 on Sunday...

CINCINNATI -- Paul DeJong is putting his rocky August start behind him. The St. Louis rookie shortstop hit a two-run homer and Lance Lynn got past Joey Votto's first-inning home run to win his fourth straight start as the Cardinals eased past the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Saturday night...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Alex Smith has done everything in training camp that Chiefs coach Andy Reid expects of him. He's made the tight throws and smart reads. He's thrown the ball away when things break down and avoided the big mistakes. He's changed plays when it's wise and checked down when it's prudent...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Derrick Johnson has hardly followed the typical path for an NFL linebacker. He was a first-round draft pick out of Texas, then got benched when he fell out of favor with the Kansas City Chiefs' coaching staff. A new regime and renewed motivation got him back on the field. Rock steady, he has become the franchise's career tackles leader...

MILWAUKEE -- Keon Broxton did a little bit of everything for the Brewers on Thursday. Broxton drove in the go-ahead run and saved a run with a leaping catch, Matt Garza made a strong start in his return from the disabled list, and Milwaukee beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1...